1. Field
This application relates to methods and systems for image data processing and image sharing over a network.
2. Description of Related Art
Anonymity on the internet is being destroyed by technology that allows searching databases of images for people. There are services such as “tineye” that find duplicate photographs, and technology such as Google's Picasa are capable of going much further, identifying a person in a photograph and then finding them in other photographs. For example, a Congressman's swearing-in photo might be used to develop the set of facial characteristics that are then looked for in other pictures, leading to the location of otherwise obscurely located embarrassing bachelor party pictures. See also the United States patent on the subject, “Method and Apparatus for Photograph Finding”, U.S. Pat. No. 7,454,498 and related continuations. It would be desirable for people who publish personal images on computer networks to conveniently ensure that posted images will not be subject to undesired image recognition applications, but solutions to provide such protection while still enabling online sharing of personal image data are either currently unavailable or suffer from substantial limitations in convenience or effectiveness.